Best Wrestlemania?

[Kyle]

There's been some very good ones, a few atrociously bad ones. Over the last few months, I've been watching the box set to fill in some of the gaps of the ones I haven't seen.

There's four that really stand out to me:

Wrestlemania X - This was whole Bret Hart/Lex Luger/Yokozuna title situation. Luger got the first shot at Yokozuna and lost by DQ. Meanwhile, to keep things fair, Bret Hart wrestled Owen in an incredible match, and lost as well. Bret then had to come back and face Yoko and upset him for the title. Also the first HBK/Razor ladder match is on this one, which is phenominal, as well as a solid two out of three falls match between Macho Man and Crush.

Wrestlemania X7 - Austin/Rock II in one of the best 'Mania matches ever. Also, there's TLC II, Taker/HHH - No Holds Barred. The Shane/Vince street fight, and last but certainly not least, Angle/Benoit. This card was stacked from top to bottom pretty much.

Wrestlemania XIX - This is probably the most underrated one. HBK/Jericho, HHH/Booker T, Austin/Rock III, Angle (with a broken neck) vs. Lesnar, a good triple threat tag match, and probably the best Women's title match I've ever seen.

Wrestlemania XX - Benoit/HHH/HBK for the World title, Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Title, Jericho/Christan, Foley & Rock vs. Evolution, and maybe the best bit of train wreck TV ever in Goldberg vs. Lesnar.

Of the four, probably the best one for me is still Wrestlemania X. I was still pretty much a mark (and very young) back then and Owen winning was maybe the biggest upset I'd ever seen, and then Bret coming back and winning the title with the bum knee after the loss...it was the best booking for rubes at the time (like me) that the WWF had ever done. And even then the ladder match was awesome and I'd never seen anything like it before.

As far as bad ones go, IX is hands down the worst. XI is pretty bad except for the Michaels/Diesel title match, and XV is almost as bad as IX except Austin/Rock at the end saves it. XV is kind of fun to watch, though, because you can see the beginnings of Vince Russo losing his mind with all the wacky going-ons

[commish13]

X7 is the best PPV of all time without question, and as far as WrestleManias go, X is really good, as are the others you mentioned. You also can't leave out III, which was the biggest wrestling event in history. I enjoyed VIII as well, and while not many people gave it a good review, I've always had a fondness for 2000, the show without a one-on-one match (if you ignore the Kat vs. Terri match).

[Kyle]

2000 is underrated as well, I think. People hated it because they didn't like Triple H retaining in the four-way, but it's a pretty good card from top to bottom. Benoit vs. Angle vs. Jericho is especially good, from what I remember.

On a side note, a fun little experiment if you have the DVD sets, or just the individual DVDs is to watch Angle/Lesnar from XIX and then watch Goldberg/Lesnar from XX. In a year, Lesnar goes from being a huge, definitely over star at XIX in which he is basically being passed the torch by Angle to carry the Smackdown brand, to being legitimately booed out of the building the likes of which I've never seen in his last WWE match at XX. It's completely surreal to watch. And it's not heel heat, he's getting. It legitimate "we hate you, fucking leave already" heat.

[CM Mark]

Wm Iii

[TheICON]

Mania 12 was awesome. Top to bottom a good show. Wrestlemania 10 was really fucking good too. Bret/Owen, Shawn/Razor, Bret winning the title, the Street fight between Macho & Crush. It was just pretty memorable.

[Kid Brock]

What about Wrestlemania II, come on William "The Refridgerator" Perry pulling Big John Stud over the ropes in the wrestlers vs NFL Battle Royal.

[TheICON]

What about Wrestlemania II, come on William "The Refridgerator" Perry pulling Big John Stud over the ropes in the wrestlers vs NFL Battle Royal.
HA! I only really liked Stamboat and Macho Man. One of the few matches that stands the test of time. God, Steamboat was fucking tremendous.

[commish13]

That was from WM III, Icon.

[askewcore]

I say Mania 6. I really forget alot of the matches but I remember Andre and Haku vs. Demolition and the main event was Warrior and Hogan, title vs. title.

It might just be my favorite because 15 years later, its one of the first vivid memories of wrestling I have.

EDIT: I found the matches, none of them are really that great, but its still my favorite, for sentimental value mostly.

Rick "the Model" Martel defeated Koko B. Ware by Submission

Demolition defeated The Colossal Connection (Bobby Heenan) to win the WWF Tag-Team Championship:

Earthquake (Jimmy Hart) pinned Hercules:


Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake pinned Mr. Perfect (The Genius)


"Rowdy" Roddy Piper battled Bad News Brown to a Double Countout (this was the best match in the HISTORY of the WWF because Piper came out with half his face and body in blackface)


The Hart Foundation defeated The Bolsheviks:


The Barbarian (Bobby Heenan) pinned Tito Santana:

Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire (Elizabeth) defeated "The Macho King" Randy Savage & "Queen" Sherri in a Mixed Tag-Team Match:


The Orient Express (Mr. Fuji) defeated The Rockers by Countout:

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan pinned Dino Bravo (Jimmy Hart & Earthquake):

Ted DiBiase (Virgil) defeated Jake "the Snake" Roberts to retain the Million Dollar Title

"Ravishing" Rick Rude (Bobby Heenan) pinned "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

The Ultimate Warrior pinned Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Championship and retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship

[Kyle]

Yeah, WM II was Savage vs. George the Animal Steele

WM VI is a good nostalgic PPV because of Hogan/Warrior, but they messed up the rest of the card. The best tag team at the time (The Hart Foundation) wins their match in 19 seconds and the best singles wrestler at the time (Randy Savage) is saddled in a mixed tag against fucking fat ass Dusty Rhodes and an even fatter ass in Sapphire.

It's kind of funny, though. The one time Hogan decides to pass the torch in his career, it's to Warrior, and it turns out to be a pretty colossal failure.

[MinusBlindfold]

I loved Wrestlemania IV with the whole tournament for the heavyweight strap. Hogan and Andre to start the second round ends in a double DQ.

Wrestlemania VIII was excellent as well. Savage vs. Flair for the belt HALFWAY through the card. Plus the return of the Warrior to help out Hogan against Sid Justice. Good stuff.

[Stormrider666]

I would have to say Wrestlemania 17. And I have agree with Kyle this was stacked from bottom to top and was the last Wrestlemania I watched. I would also have to say, this was the last great Wrestlemania. If you think back to what was going on at the time, it showed the WWE at its peak. ECW had just collasped and in a couple of months later, Vince aquired WCW. With no more competition, the WWE began its run of lackluster pay per views. *On a side note if we're talking about indviudal matches from past Wrestlemanias, a few I would like to mention:
Brett Hart vs Shawn Micheals in the Iron Man Match
Brett Hart vs Stone Cold in the First Blood Match
The First TLC match
Triple HHH vs Chris Jericho

[Steam]

17 was the best one just for the Angle/Benoit match. I do felt they kind of botched the big payoff in the Austin/Rock match with Austin joining McMahon by having Rock kick out about twenty times after Austin had already turned. Shouldn't the swerve in the storyline take precedence over the Rock being portrayed as some tough guy?

Actually, a lot of the more recent Wrestlemanias have been good thanks to the likes of Benoit, Jericho, Angle, etc. As far as older Wrestlemanias go I have to go with III just based on the historical nature of it all. I didn't get to watch it until four days after it took place and I was still transfixed by the action. Sure, it started their trend to screw over the Bulldogs on a constant basis but after all these years the wounds are starting to heal.

As for the worst, it is IX hands down. It was barely passable at the time but if you go back and watch it it is fucking atrocious. Jim Ross making his WWF debut wearing a fucking toga. Hogan/Beefcake vs. Money Inc in an awful co-main event. I normally like the outdoor setting but this one had nothing going for it at all.

[commish13]

Brett Hart vs Shawn Micheals in the Iron Man Match
Brett Hart vs Stone Cold in the First Blood Match
The First TLC match
Triple HHH vs Chris Jericho

Austin vs. Bret was a Submission match, not first blood, and Hunter Hunter Hunter Hunter Hearst Hearst Hearst Hearst Helmsley vs. Jericho was easily the worst match the two guys ever had against each other, and it was by a very wide margin. The match was decent, but it was a stinker. The first TLC match happened at SummerSlam 2000, also.

[Stormrider666]

Austin vs. Bret was a Submission match, not first blood, and Hunter Hunter Hunter Hunter Hearst Hearst Hearst Hearst Helmsley vs. Jericho was easily the worst match the two guys ever had against each other, and it was by a very wide margin. The match was decent, but it was a stinker. The first TLC match happened at SummerSlam 2000, also.
I stand corrected then, I just got confused remembering all the blood pouring down Austin's face. And the TLC match thought for sure was at the prior Wrestlemania.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of that Jericho/HHH match or that Wrestlemania. X8 was a pretty big let down. Outside of Rock/Hogan, there's a couple good matches in Flair/Taker and Angle/Kane, but it's on the whole a pretty big letdown.

The more I think about it, the more I really like XIX. Jericho/Michaels might be the best Wrestlemania match outside of Bret/Austin.

[commish13]

I stand corrected then, I just got confused remembering all the blood pouring down Austin's face. And the TLC match thought for sure was at the prior Wrestlemania.

It was the predecessor to the original TLC match, yes. I would say that I was just being picky when I corrected you on that one, but it's only because when I read "First TLC" I thought you were talking about the WM x-Seven TLC as though it was the first one. There was a Triangle Ladders match at WM 2000, which can basically be regarded as the first TLC match, just without the name.

[Stormrider666]

It was the predecessor to the original TLC match, yes. I would say that I was just being picky when I corrected you on that one, but it's only because when I read "First TLC" I thought you were talking about the WM x-Seven TLC as though it was the first one. There was a Triangle Ladders match at WM 2000, which can basically be regarded as the first TLC match, just without the name.
Then I think that's the one I was talking about then. Come to think of it, I think confused the Triple HHH-Chris Jericho match also. When did they have their last man standing match?

[commish13]

Hunter Hunter Hunter Hunter Hearst Hearst Hearst Hearst Helmsley's Last Man Standing Match against Jericho was at Fully Loaded 2000.

[Ploppy]

I'm going to say WM III.

Savage vs. Steamboat was a classic that upstaged the main event. Not only was the match great, but the buildup to the match was done very well. To this day, my mother is still mad at Savage for dropping that ring bell on Steamboat's throat.

Hogan vs. Andre was the last match that I really didn't know who was going to win. They built this match up over months and even made a belt that would fit Andre in case he won. The story telling on this one hasn't been matched.

I also liked this one because I didn't watch it on PPV. I had to go an hour away to the Peoria Civic Center to watch it on closed circuit TV with about 3000 other people. It was great.

[Kyle]

I'm going to say WM III.

Savage vs. Steamboat was a classic that upstaged the main event. Not only was the match great, but the buildup to the match was done very well. To this day, my mother is still mad at Savage for dropping that ring bell on Steamboat's throat.


I completely agree, and the match still holds up today, too. Savage was so fucking underrated as a wrestler in the 80s, and Steamboat, as always, was phenominal. The McMahons better put Mach in the Hall of Fame, even though they supposedly hate him.

I like III a lot too. The Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana was also good as well. Hogan/Andre doesn't stand the test of time at all, but if you put it in context, it was huge.

[KnitterRich]

I have to say X-7, and thats after seeing every sigle one a few times through. You can even argue that the Taker-HHH match was a bit of a let down on that card, and you can give that match a 4 out of 5.

That show had something for everyone, no matter what you tuned in for, and the culmination of a lot of very good storylines. I'd say based on hype, III is also up there, and X is very underrated (probably because it was at a real down time for wrestling), but X-7 really showed WWE at its best.

[Stormrider666]

Hunter Hunter Hunter Hunter Hearst Hearst Hearst Hearst Helmsley's Last Man Standing Match against Jericho was at Fully Loaded 2000.
Thanks for the info commish, and thanks for pointing out that I'm an redundent ass.:action-sm

[commish13]

I felt it was necessary.

[GLENN_THE_TOOL]

i have to go with a lot of people and say that III was the best. Hogan/Andre and Steamboat/Savage are probably the most memorable matches in history. the whole thing just felt so big, so momentous.

i loved X because i had actually just gotten home from my mother's funeral that night and just remembered it was on after forgetting (and given the situation, i had good reason to forget). the Ladder Match, the whole Bret/Luger/Yokozuna thing, Bret losing to Owen then winning the title later that very night, it definitely helped me get my mind off the terrible events of the past few days.

[CringeRadioWanted]

I would have to go with ones that have been mentioned already. My order would be 17, 10, and then 20. (Though, being a huge Benoit fan, I was freaking out at the end of the three-way main event at 20...first time since the death of ECW that that had happened.) The virtues of the other two have already been discussed above. I was too young to experience III, and it hasn't held up over time (with the exception of Savage-Steamboat).

For the record, I refer to Wrestmania IX as the "Wrestlemania that never happened." I was only 13 when that happened, watched it on PPV, and it sucked from the moment it started with those stupid fucking togas to the asinine Hogan ending. I was PISSED!!!! I couldn't figure out why JR left WCW to wear a goddamn toga...and I still can't, to this day. I was just happy that Vince wasn't going to scream his way through another PPV by himself anymore.

[SNARLINZ]

Wrestlemania 3 when KIng Kong Bundy elbow dropped the midget

[Johnny Manf]

Wrestlemania VI
Hogan vs. Warrior
Title for Title

an unexpected win by warrior and the friendship showed at the end.

[Kid Brock]

What about Wrestlemania II, come on William "The Refridgerator" Perry pulling Big John Stud over the ropes in the wrestlers vs NFL Battle Royal.


I guess I was a couple weeks ahead of my time since The Fridge is going into the HOF before mania. I knew that one match would stand the test of time.

[Redding]

wrestlemania 13 sucked up bret hart vs stone cold was a great match, but nothing can match wrestlemania 3 steamboat and savage...i also liked angle and lesnar till brock landed on his head doing the shooting star press, he hits that its one of the best pure wrestling matches all time